Slippers

"Humans?" Chen Xiaomeng's eyes widened.

"That's right," Sister Nuan said, unconsciously clenching her fingers, her voice filled with lingering fear. "Sometimes they're scarier than ghosts."

The fire in the fireplace burned fiercely, its flames illuminating half the living room.

Fan Li, sitting before the fireplace, had a grim expression, occasionally adding more firewood.

He understood why Sister Nuan insisted on driving him out.

The ghosts in this villa were killed by two men, so their vengeance was directed at men. The recently deceased middle-aged man and Xie Yu were examples.

Thinking of this, Fan Li grabbed two more logs with his large hands and tossed them into the fireplace. The fire blazed even brighter, as if only this could dispel the chill in his heart.

From the current situation, the events were mostly clear, meaning the mission was nearing its end. But the closer it got, the more frenzied the ghosts would become. Something was bound to happen tonight. The only question was who would die. It was precisely because he realized this that he refused Fatty's suggestion to sleep together. His individual chance of encountering a ghost was one in three, but if they huddled together, it would be a hundred percent. A flicker of fear flashed in his eyes at the thought of being targeted by a ghost. Ghosts rarely killed multiple people at once, but it wasn't unheard of. Besides, he had his own plans. He was confident that by staying here, he could survive until dawn. His gaze drifted to the fireplace. According to the evidence, the ghost likely drowned in life, and before him... was a blazing fire.

In the study, Fatty squatted in the darkness, not daring to breathe. Finally, unable to resist, he craned his neck and leaned closer to where Jiang Cheng was sitting, whispering, "You don't think the ghost will know we're hiding here, do you?"

"I don't know."

Fatty relaxed slightly, muttering to himself, "That's good."

"I said I don't know," Jiang Cheng replied with a drawn-out intonation.

Having spent so much time with Jiang Cheng, Fatty's psychological resilience had improved considerably. This time, he only trembled for less than five seconds before he could communicate normally again.

"Seriously, bro," Fatty stared at Jiang Cheng. "I think you're not an ordinary person. I was so scared when that ghost appeared yesterday, but you still remembered what shoes she was wearing."

"You're definitely not a model, you're a cop, right?" Fatty became more excited as his guess seemed more plausible.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Cheng glanced at him. "Do you think you'll survive if I'm a cop? Or will the ghost stop killing us if I show my badge?"

Fatty's rekindled hope was extinguished. He said with a hint of self-abandonment, "So, we're dead for sure, right?"

Just as Jiang Cheng was about to speak, Fatty waved his hand to interrupt him, his face contorted in a grimace. "I bet you're going to say only I'm dead, not us, right?"

Jiang Cheng sullenly closed his mouth.

After a long pause, Jiang Cheng spoke again. "But Fatty, you don't need to be so pessimistic. Maybe there's still a chance."

Just as Fatty looked up, about to say something more, Jiang Cheng suddenly made a shushing gesture. Fatty immediately fell silent.

1 minute. 2 minutes. 5 minutes.

After about ten minutes, Fatty still heard nothing, and nothing appeared in the room. He was highly tense, his ears perked up.

Jiang Cheng stood up from his chair, his eyes quickly glancing in the direction of the desk. On the bare surface, the most conspicuous item was a cartoon alarm clock. Fatty heard him muttering something about why there was no movement.

"Bro," Fatty's voice was filled with shock. "You're not waiting for the ghost here, are you?"

"Don't talk," Jiang Cheng frowned and walked towards the door. "Stay here, I'll go take a look."

Fatty scurried after him. "No, let's go together."

Jiang Cheng and Fatty arrived in the hallway. The light overhead was still on, emitting a dim, flickering glow.

Without hesitation, Jiang Cheng went directly to the master bedroom door and knocked gently.

A few seconds later, a cautious female voice asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me," Jiang Cheng replied. "It's Hao Shuai."

"What are you doing here?"

Jiang Cheng said seriously, "I think Fan Li has already gotten into trouble."

Hearing this, the door opened slightly, but only a crack. Sister Nuan, who was speaking, showed only half an eye. "How did you know?"

Jiang Cheng quickly glanced at the end of the corridor near the stairs, then turned back and said rapidly, "Let's talk inside, it's not safe here."

Sister Nuan scrutinized Jiang Cheng and Fatty through the gap in the door again, finally nodding. "Okay."

The door opened.

Sister Nuan stood just behind it.

They didn't dare to turn on the lights, and the room was pitch black.

When Fatty heard Jiang Cheng say that Fan Li was in trouble, his expression suddenly became tense. He didn't know how Jiang Cheng had reached this conclusion, but he strangely chose to believe him.

Jiang Cheng entered first, with Fatty following closely behind.

But just as he was about to step through the door, Jiang Cheng's body suddenly paused. He stopped at the doorway, causing Fatty, who was right behind him, to bump into him.

Before Fatty could ask what was wrong, Jiang Cheng quickly retreated back into the corridor.

At the same time, he grabbed Fatty's shoulders and pulled him back as well.

Sister Nuan had already made way for them to enter. "Hurry up and come in, what are you dawdling for!" Sister Nuan urged.

She kept looking anxiously towards the other end of the corridor, as if something was about to appear there soon.

"I forgot something very important in the room," Jiang Cheng suddenly said. "I'll go back and get it."

Without waiting for Sister Nuan to react, he placed one hand on Fatty's shoulder, and the two of them turned around and walked quickly towards the other end of the corridor.

Fatty hadn't expected Jiang Cheng, who looked thin, to be so strong. He was practically being dragged along by Jiang Cheng.

His entire brain was in a state of blankness.

But at this moment, he wisely refrained from voicing any opinions until they reached the corner where the corridor met the stairs. Jiang Cheng pulled him and quickly hid there.

"Did you find something?" Fatty asked, panting heavily.

He saw a few drops of cold sweat trickling down Jiang Cheng's cheek.

Jiang Cheng motioned for him to stay quiet, then moved closer to the corridor wall, as if listening to something. After a few minutes, his expression returned to normal.

"Something's not right with Sister Nuan," Jiang Cheng said in a low voice.

The fat on Fatty's face trembled. "What's not right?"

"She's wearing slippers on her feet."

"Slippers?"

"Yeah," Jiang Cheng nodded. "I noticed it accidentally when I was entering the room."

He continued, "We all know how dangerous this villa is, and we could be chased by vengeful spirits at any moment. How could she take off her shoes and put on a pair of inconvenient slippers?"